Application of Earth Observation tools in protected areas workshop – Establishing a community of practice.

2 – 5 May 2017, Pisa (I)

Innovative technologies for Earth Observation and modelling are emerging. European Protected Areas (PAs) have the opportunity to be at the forefront in their application, such as for demonstrating the value their ecosystems bring to society. The main aim of this meeting is to determine what kind of products and tools developed in the framework of ECOPOTENTIAL can facilitate the effective use of Earth Observation (EO) information in the management of the participating PAs. The second aim for the workshop is to be a seed for the creation of an ecosystem Community of Practice in the framework of the Group on Earth Observation (GEO) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and GEO ECO: the GEO Global Ecosystem Initiative. A recent study conducted by ECOPOTENTIAL scientists indicate that the use of EO tools (developed from both Remote Sensing and In Situ data) in the management of PAs is overall low and has potential to be enhanced, due to the request to acquire more knowledge on how to use EO tools. At the same time, there are good case studies of Remote Sensing use in some PAs and also willingness to share experiences.

ECOPOTENTIAL has the aim of providing knowledge and training resources for filling this gap. A useful tool will be the ECOPOTENTIAL Virtual Lab Platform to be established under the project. To answer such questions and further identify the main PA needs, a workshop will be organized in May 2017 inside the Natural Reserve – Regional Park of San Rossore, Pisa, Italy, where about 70 participants (researchers and technical experts of the PAs participating in the project) will discuss about the following topics:

Application of in situ monitoring data;

Use and interpretation of Remote Sensing products;

Modelling of ecosystems, ecosystem functions and services;

Citizen science activities in PAs.

The workshop will address challenges for EO application in training, software & hardware acquisition and for the use of the ecosystem services approach in PA management. Feedback provided by PA representatives through the workshops will be mainstreamed into the work of the relevant ECOPOTENTIAL Work Packages.